Various types of mallets or hammers with elastic heads are used in workshops, particularly for sheet metal shaping and forming, for repairs, in automotive body and fender shops, and the like. Usually, the head of the mallet is made of rubber or similar elastomer material, or of plastic of more or less hardness. Blows can be struck against a work surface which may be painted, without marring the surface.
It is difficult to provide for good retention of an elastic or plastic head on a hammer body, particularly if the body of the hammer is to have a substantial weight so that the blows to be struck will provide sufficient impact force on the object or surface which is being hammered. Mallets, therefore, should have a core of heavy material, such as iron, steel, or the like, which is encased by rubber, plastic, or other similar substance, which is non-marring with respect to the surface to be struck. The surface to be struck should have the force of the hammer applied thereto evenly; this requires essentially even or uniform force transfer between the striking surface of the mallet and the interior components thereof. In the past, it was difficult to provide for good force transfer which insures adhesion of the outer elastic or non-marring rubber or plastic or similar portion without degradation or breakage thereof.